Motor vehicles such as pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles are characterized by cargo areas, or beds, that are generally positioned in a rear section of the vehicle. These beds generally have a gate which is positioned on the end of the vehicle, and which is known as a tailgate or end gate. The tailgate is rotatable from a vertical position to a horizontal position so as to open the tailgate to permit easier access to the bed, and to permit easier loading and unloading of cargo into the bed.
To make it even easier to load end unload cargo into the bed of these vehicles, it is known to provide a ramp that is connected to the tailgate. These ramps, however, are large, cumbersome, and add unnecessary weight to the vehicle. Furthermore, these ramps are not integrated with the tailgate such that the tailgate must be modified to a large extent to accommodate the ramp, or must be replaced entirely. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a ramp that is lightweight, compact, and fully integrated with the existing tailgate.